


The Ballad Of The Unrequited

by ImogenSmiley



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Different Outlooks, Doubt, F/F, Family Angst, Family Drama, Insecurities, Onsided Crush, Outsider Perspective, Pining, Pre-Canon, Ruby Kurosawa - Freeform, Ruby Kurosawa's Perspective, Sibling Rivalry, Unrequited Love, miscommunications, observation, sibling angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:54:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27006913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImogenSmiley/pseuds/ImogenSmiley
Summary: Ruby Kurosawa endured a lot of anguish at the hands of her older sister, never with poor intentions, but that didn’t stop her from crying. She was barely old enough to comprehend the complexities of her new school when her once warm and doting sister shut her out. Not completely, as demure and poised as Dia was, she wasn’t an ice queen like many said. But she had grown cold; refusing to encourage Ruby’s interests.She was much too busy dealing with her own.
Relationships: Matsuura Kanan/Ohara Mari, Onesided Kurosawa Dia/ Matsuura Kanan
Kudos: 7





	The Ballad Of The Unrequited

Dia Kurosawa was, supposedly, the more esteemed sister; the smart one, the pretty one, poised, elegant, perfect. She was the model child, that everyone in her class was to aspire to be like. Which meant Ruby was expected to be the same.

Too bad the younger of the sisters was a klutz, she was emotional, she was anxious and easily overwhelmed, too scared of the world around her to talk to others. Ruby was just the child in Dia’s shadow. Anyone who knew the Kurosawa family pitied the younger daughter. Had Ruby been a boy, she might have had a chance. She could have been anything, that way. But, instead, she was Dia’s Sister.

Ruby Kurosawa endured a lot of anguish at the hands of her older sister, never with poor intentions, but that didn’t stop her from crying. She was barely old enough to comprehend the complexities of her new school when her once warm and doting sister shut her out. Not completely, as demure and poised as Dia was, she wasn’t an ice queen like many said. But she had grown cold; refusing to encourage Ruby’s interests.

She was much too busy dealing with her own.

Being in love with your childhood best friend is heart-breaking enough, without knowing that your feelings are completely unrequited. Dia knew that. Kanan Matsuura had been the light of her life, the heart of the ocean with a body, a heart, a soul. She was the little mermaid, she was a siren of folklore, she was her muse. Love songs, ballads to her aching heart were often hidden in her school uniform before she could dispose of them.

She had known Kanan since elementary school and, somewhere, as the girls got older, she knew that the feelings the shy brunette had for the exuberant swimmer, were nothing like the ones she held for Mari Ohara. No. She loved Kanan differently.

She loved the rhythm of their port town, how every morning, Kanan would go on a jog past Dia’s house to wish her good morning before school, and Dia would always pack an extra bento because she never thought to prepare one the night before. It was either run, or eat, and Kanan was one with the wind and sea, any chance to move was perfect. Which was why Dia, in particular, was not surprised by the eventual ADHD diagnosis. It didn’t change Kanan, it just justified some of the habits her family called “quirky”. They loved their daughter wholly, and if allowing her to run for an hour, before coming home and getting ready for school, meant she was awake, ready and raring to go and willing to focus, then they would let her.

They would do anything for Kanan.

Dia was on the same page; anything for Kanan.

Which was why, when Kanan came to school one Monday, hand in hand with Mari O’hara, Dia had smiled, and congratulated them. She told her best friends how happy she was for them, and despite her entire body ravaging her from the inside, a black hole opening up in her chest, she waited until break time to visit the nurse.

She lied and said she was having horrific menstrual cramps and needed to lie down and cry. The nurse had given her a sympathetic nod, while Dia wept into the pillow in the office.

She was back in class as quickly as she could be, with an excuse note from the nurse.

Ruby, of course, was none the wiser of her older sister’s plight. When the redheaded Kurosawa sibling saw Dia, all she saw was starry-eyed perfection; not smudged makeup from weeping, not torn up love confessions, not the inner anguish which Dia swallowed, desperate not to let Ruby know her role model was so pathetic. After all, all Ruby saw was her older sister, in her first year of High School making it past round one of Love Live! She could do it, Aquors could follow in Muse’s and A-RISE’s footsteps. They were going to do amazing things.

But while Ruby gazed after her sister, awestruck by her successes, Dia was pacing. How dare someone break her heart like that. She would never let it happen again.

Except, of course, it did. A year later. There were just two weeks until the next round of Love Live! Kanan had been eavesdropping on her girlfriend as she was called into the office, guilt bubbling in her stomach as she heard her speak. Mari wasn’t considering offers to pursue real-world opportunities because of Love Live? Because of a school idol competition? Sure they were good, but they had no chance, even with Kanan’s backflip. No way. Mari had injured herself already and was dancing through gritted teeth. She couldn’t let her miss out on what the world had to offer. It wasn’t fair to force her to. Love Live wasn’t as important as Mari’s career. Love Live wasn’t as important as Mari’s future.

With teary eyes, Dia’s violet-eyed love had run to her house, and begged to speak to her. Ruby had, without question, let Kanan in. The cerulean haired girl wept into Dia’s shirt, and begged her, pleaded, to not let her hold Mari back. They had to throw the competition. Dia cried too. Not Love Live, anything but Love Live.

But, she had always said, she would do anything for Kanan, so she too played her part, and in turn, shattered Mari’s heart. Only for Mari to break theirs back, by leaving.

Dia stuck by her beloved Kanan, but it was strange to be a duo and not a trio. Dia would be loyal to her best friend, stick by her side no matter what. And if that meant, refusing Chika Takami, and outwardly resisting a new School Idol group coming out of Uranohoshi Girl’s High School, Dia would do it.

She would support Ruby from the sidelines. She wouldn’t go back on that stage. Not until Kanan did. And Kanan wouldn’t do it without Mari.

She wasn’t sure whether her best friend knew of her feelings, not that it would change anything. Pining for someone you can’t have is hard enough without them acknowledging it either. No, Dia would be whoever Kanan needed her to be. Perhaps one day, her best friend would share her feelings, but until then she would stick by her.

Whether it was easy or not. Mari always made things complicated. Not that she ever meant to. No, she was ignorant but she wasn’t obnoxious. She probably knew just as Kanan did that Dia loved her girlfriend. But she loved Kanan too, and if Kanan chose her, Dia would have to accept it.

Though, it was clear for all three girls, on the eve they joined Aquors, that they were all aware of their places. Kanan and Mari were to be together, and Dia was the third wheel, the childhood best friend, the odd one out.

She wept into her pillow that night, gazing up at her ceiling, she simply hoped her friends were happy. She was happy to have another chance at Love Live. Some people don’t get to be that lucky.

She had to be glad about what she had.

Someone was out there for her, a girl even more perfect than Kanan Matsuura. It just sucked that it wasn’t her.


End file.
